1. Field of the Invention
This invention concerns indicators associated with a firehose to help a firefighter find his way to safety via the firehose from a smoke-filled building.
2. Description of Prior Art
A primary concern of fire fighting personnel is that of becoming lost in a burning or smoke-filled structure where the firefighter does not know the direction to the outside. Firefighters are commonly taught to follow the firehose lines, knowing that the firehose connects from an outside source of water to the water spraying nozzle. However, under the stresses and pressures of a fire emergency, a firefighter may lose his sense of direction, and upon finding a firehose may be unable to conclude which direction leads to the outside water source and which direction leads to the nozzle. As explained in U.S. Pat. No. 4,884,000, innumerable other problems can arise which further minimize the chances of a safe escape.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,884,000, issued Jul. 4, 1989 to Clement, describes a flexible band or clamp with directional fingers protruding perpendicularly from the band. The band is attached to the firehose and helps indicate the direction to the water connection source of the firehose. The clamp of the ""000 patent allows a firefighter to feel along the firehose and determine the direction to the exit. The clamp is a flexible removable band which must be retrofitted along the length of the firehose. The embodiments described include a steel spring clamp capable of being slipped over an unrolled firehose and a flexible band with fastener which encircles the firehose and may remain on a stored firehose. U.S. Pat. No. Des. 312,390 issued Nov. 7, 1990 and U.S. Pat. No. 345,519 issued Mar. 29, 1994, both to Clement, show various embodiments of the directional bands as essentially described in Clement""s ""000 patent.
Problems are inherent in a device which must be attached by encircling a firehose. Such a device must be able to withstand heat; must be able to withstand sudden expansion or change in shape caused by the high water pressure through a firehose; must be able to withstand abuse to its surface when being dragged over rough surfaces; and must be able to avoid snagging objects and hampering movement of the firehose. Yet, simultaneously, the device must also be able to remain sufficiently flexible to allow the firehouse to be stored in a flattened coil or roll; must be able to avoid restriction of water flow by kinking a firehose; and more importantly, must be able to withstand being dislodged or removed through abuse of the hose so that the device is there when the firefighter needs it.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,027,741, issued Jul. 2, 1991 to Smith et al, addresses many of these problems in two embodiments of an emergency escape firehose. The ""741 embodiments incorporate stiff bristles permanently interwoven at an angle into the canvas surface of a firehose. In the first embodiment, the fibers"" angle points towards the connection of the firehose with the water source so enabling a firefighter to feel a smooth surface in that direction and a resistant surface in the direction towards the nozzle connection. In the second embodiment, the fiber angles are reversely inclined and the firefighter must know that the direction towards the resistant feel of the firehose will lead him to the water source connection.
However, when a firefighter is faced with an extreme emergency or panic circumstance, a safety escape device should also be intuitive to use so as to minimize the need for use of cognitive skills. A rookie firefighter trying to remember whether the rough direction is to the fire or to the source has no intuitive clues whether xe2x80x9csmoothxe2x80x9d is out or xe2x80x9croughxe2x80x9d is out. In contrast, everyone intuitively understands a pointer or directional arrow.
The third and fourth embodiments of the ""741 patent include a series of annular members attached to the outer surface of the firehose wherein the annular member is inclined to indicate direction. A fifth and sixth embodiment include application of a luminous tapered stripe to the firehose. While these embodiments are more intuitive, they too have the same problems and disadvantages as previously noted.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,623,890 describes a firehose coupling comprising male and female components which thread together to connect firehose sections. The male coupling component always indicates the direction of water flow. The ""890 patent discloses an elongated extension integrally attached to each lug of a male component of a firehose coupling. Such lugs are costly to manufacture and require large capital expenditures to provide new coupling sets to equip many firehoses for a large city fire department.
A primary object of the invention is to provide a direction indicating device at the coupling between firehose sections that is inexpensive to manufacture, yet provides a reliable indicator toward the hose source for a firefighter in a dark, smoke-filled building.
Another object of the invention is to provide an inexpensive direction indicating device that can be attached to couplings of existing firehoses so that entire new couplings need not be purchased.
The objects identified above along with other advantages and features are embodied in a gasket-like indicating device which fits over the male threads of a male coupling of a firehose. The indicating device has integral indicating fingers which point backward from the coupling toward the hose source. Such fingers fit in the gaps of the lugs of the male coupling. The fingers preferably are shaped like arrowheads so that a firefighter can determine by feel the direction to which they are pointing. In one embodiment of the invention, the fingers of the device increase in thickness toward the pointed end to provide a further tactile indicator of the direction toward the firehose source.